Race Report by Ross Cooper
So that is it for another Birmingham League season, well done to everyone who ran on Saturday as well as all those who contributed throughout the season. It was a cold, wet and windswept day in the Cotswold hills of Ullenwood, and we hoped that another solid performance should see us safe for another year in Division 2. The Massey team was significantly depleted though, with a number of unavoidable withdrawals through injury, ill health and other challenges which meant we were without a few reliable top 6 runners, and overall the numbers were down across the squad leaving us very thin.
The final score of 544 was pretty consistent with the previous races, but it became apparent that the high standards in the league this season meant this was not enough. The margins were really fine though, and it was very bad luck that this season the Birmingham League had decided to relegate 4 teams from Division 2 to try and balance the league numbers. In most seasons we would have been safe finishing 14th, but in the end have been relegated with only 21pts separating us from safety. This is obviously very disappointing, but I’m sure we will bounce straight back next year, and can hopefully look forward to a season of challenging for promotion, and even the league title. We will also have a few more local rivals with Northbrook joining us in the drop zone, and Sphinx, Solihull, Centurion and Cov Tri all in Division 3.
I had a unique view of the course as an injured spectator, and was reliably informed it was tough, and could also tell this from the expression on everyone’s faces! The commitment and effort of everyone who competed in the Birmingham League this year has been brilliant, so despite the disappointment of relegation everyone can be very proud of their performances. We have had some very promising debut seasons from new members who have loads of potential for improvement, as well as some great returns to form from some other more experienced members. It would be great to see a few more get involved, 20 runners on Saturday is a bit disappointing when we have well over 100 male members, I appreciate cross country isn’t for everyone but it is one of the few occasions when you can properly say that you have represented your club in a team competition.
Thank you to all the volunteers and supporters who have given up their time this season, particularly John Aylmer who has helped with the race organisers of the Birmingham League in every fixture, and Daniel Connolly getting the team admin organised. Look out for information about other upcoming club fixtures such as the 12 Stage Relays and Cotswold Hilly 100.
Cheers
Ross – Men’s Captain
Individual Results
29 288 39:06 Dean Clarke A Team
83 312 41:50 Simon Neale
100 292 42:47 Alex Cotterill
105 303 43:04 Gary Lawson
112 315 43:15 Mick O’Shea
115 287 43:23 Dave Clarke
146 307 45:02 Nick Luntley B Team
157 285 45:48 Simon Brown
176 299 46:52 Tony Hoy
178 304 47:04 Dave Lee
183 309 47:26 Alan McDougall
213 301 51:19 Martin Judge
222 324 52:27 Dean Semple
225 327 52:50 Martin Smith
230 314 53:35 Ian O’Donnell
232 317 54:19 Peter Paprcka
253 289 62:49 Daniel Connolly
258 320 84:56 Dave Phillips
DNF Graham Patton
DNF James Padvis
Senior Men Team Results
A Team
1 Worcester AC 5 6 11 15 24 26 87
2 Cannock&Stafford 1 4 10 25 36 54 130
3 Telford AC 2 19 20 27 33 46 147
4 Halesowen A&CC 22 34 37 39 40 50 222
5 Bromsgrove&Redditch 18 32 49 55 59 67 280
6 Gloucester AC 3 23 56 65 72 73 292
7 Dudley & Stourbridge Harriers 12 13 16 57 92 122 312
8 Bournville Harriers 14 30 42 63 64 107 320
9 Black Pear Joggers 17 41 62 71 80 84 355
10 Spa Striders 31 47 68 76 95 106 423
11 Kings Heath Running Club 38 45 66 74 108 118 449
12 Stratford upon Avon AC 9 48 89 94 101 123 464
13 Tamworth AC 8 28 79 111 117 163 506
14 Massey Ferguson RC 29 83 100 105 112 115 544
15 C.L.C. Striders RC 7 70 91 102 142 152 564
16 Northbrook AC 52 77 82 120 130 143 604
17 Dudley Kingswinford RC 21 114 150 151 187 193 816
B Team
1 Worcester AC 35 43 44 53 58 81 314
2 Halesowen A&CC 60 61 97 129 132 170 649
3 Gloucester AC 86 87 103 104 135 137 652
4 Bromsgrove&Redditch 69 96 110 131 136 144 686
5 Bournville Harriers 109 119 124 126 140 153 771
6 Black Pear Joggers 113 116 121 138 139 161 788
7 Spa Striders 125 127 154 156 158 168 888
8 Northbrook AC 145 165 171 173 175 184 1013
9 Stratford upon Avon AC 128 133 134 196 211 218 1020
10 Massey Ferguson RC 146 157 176 178 183 213 1053
11 Kings Heath Running Club 147 155 167 180 198 209 1056
12 C.L.C. Striders RC 162 169 179 181 182 186 1059
13 Dudley Kingswinford RC 200 202 205 217 227 233 1284
Senior Men Series Points Match 1 Match 2 Match 3 Match 4 Total
A Team
1 Telford AC 59 80 130 147 416 C
2 Worcester AC 182 128 107 87 504 P
3 Cannock&Stafford 113 179 132 130 554 P
4 Halesowen A&CC 182 186 220 222 810
5 Bournville Harriers 231 314 219 320 1084
6 Bromsgrove&Redditch 375 203 334 280 1192
7 Black Pear Joggers 263 350 282 355 1250
8 Stratford upon Avon AC 281 340 456 464 1541
9 Dudley & Stourbridge Harriers 515 408 399 312 1634
10 C.L.C. Striders RC 409 463 422 564 1858
11 Tamworth AC 627 435 428 506 1996
12 Kings Heath Running Club 521 558 545 449 2073
13 Spa Striders 603 641 443 423 2110
14 Massey Ferguson RC 517 547 523 544 2131 R
15 Gloucester AC 811 580 489 292 2172 R
16 Northbrook AC 624 607 507 604 2342 R
17 Dudley Kingswinford RC 703 823 794 816 3136 R
B Team
1 Worcester AC 445 357 411 314 1527
2 Halesowen A&CC 449 481 507 649 2086
3 Bromsgrove&Redditch 709 473 763 686 2631
4 Bournville Harriers 703 835 616 771 2925
5 Black Pear Joggers 1067 802 748 788 3405
6 Massey Ferguson RC 871 771 966 1053 3661
7 Stratford upon Avon AC 949 751 943 1020 3663
8 Northbrook AC 1053 1111 987 1013 4164
9 C.L.C. Striders RC 957 1217 1063 1059 4296
10 Spa Striders 1175 1334 978 888 4375
11 Kings Heath Running Club 1129 1226 1099 1056 4510
12 Dudley Kingswinford RC 1265 1240 1284 3789
13 Telford AC 324 508 832
14 Gloucester AC 1015 652 1667